GROWTH
Port investment leads to strong growth in cargo
O
ver the past 10 years or so the performance of the Port of Mombasa has been nothing short of extraordinary – outpacing in percentage terms even that of the generally buoyant Kenyan economy. The strong and consistent upward trajectory of its figures is a reflection of the Kenya Ports Authority’s longterm investment strategy, which has seen the construction of new facilities along with the purchase of modern cargo handling equipment. This has been underpinned by dramatic improvements to other aspects of the port’s operations. Since 2005, in response to growing demand, the KPA has added new berths, refurbished existing berths and rededicated others as well as driving up productivity and investing in new technology. Perhaps the best example of this progress is the port’s second container terminal, opened in 2016. This state-of-the-art facility has enabled the KPA to take Mombasa to the next level in terms of container capacity – a key investment, since the authority does not expect to see any slowdown in traffic in the years ahead.
KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY HANDBOOK 2017-18
By any measure, the growth in cargo traffic across a wide range of commodities has been impressive and continues to be so. Overall, Mombasa handled a record 27.36 million tonnes in 2016 compared with 26.73 million tonnes the previous year – a respectable increase of 2.4 per cent. Container traffic is a useful yardstick of any port’s performance. Mombasa has seen an increase in container handling from just 436,671 teu a year in 2005 to an impressive 1,091,000 teu in 2016. This 2016 figure was a rise of 1.4 per cent compared with 2015 and, significantly up on the figure recorded 10 years previously, thus underlining Mombasa’s status as one of Africa’s leading container ports. In addition to the new container terminal, Mombasa will benefit from the opening in 2017 of a new standard gauge railway to Nairobi and the additional capacity this will create. No matter how big and efficient Mombasa expects to become, it can only truly develop if its hinterland road and rail connections and inland container depots can match the port’s own vision.
If any evidence were necessary, these two projects in particular show how Kenya in general, and the KPA in particular, are carefully planning ahead and not just reacting to an increase in traffic once it has already become a reality. This is a marked change from the past and clearly illustrates the KPA’s commitment to the government’s Vision 2030 development plan.
Dry bulk Growth has not been confined to container traffic, however. Dry bulk commodities such as exports of soda ash and imports of grain and cement have also grown exponentially, while liquid bulk traffic has increased so much so that in 2016 the KPA announced plans for a new oil terminal. In general, the KPA expects future growth in Mombasa to come from handling cargoes moving to and from its vast natural hinterland. As a result, there is less emphasis on generating transhipment traffic, which actually saw a decline in 2015 compared with 2014 and now represents less than two per cent of total throughput.
07